Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson, the Canadian beach volleyball pair, secured a spot in the semifinals of the Montreal Elite16 tournament by defeating Tina Graudina and Anastasija Kravcenoka from Latvia with a score of 22-20, 21-18 in the quarterfinals on Saturday. The Canadians demonstrated stronger blocking and digging skills compared to their opponents, advancing to face Thamela Galil and Victoria Tosta of Brazil in the upcoming semifinal match. Galil and Tosta overcame the American duo of Julia Donlin and Lexy Denaburg with a score of 21-17, 13-21, 18-16 to secure their spot in the semis.
The Canadian team, consisting of Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson, had previously claimed victory in the 2023 and 2025 editions and also won an Olympic silver medal in between. Humana-Paredes mentioned that they would review the video footage of their previous match against Brazil to capitalize on their strengths and strategize effectively for the upcoming game.
In another thrilling match on Saturday, the Ontario duo of Sam Schachter and Jonathan Pickett caused an upset by defeating the world No. 1 team of Jacob Hölting Nilsson and Elmer Andersson from Sweden with a score of 2-0 (21-19, 21-17) in the quarterfinals. The Canadian pair also outplayed Austria’s Alexander Horst and Paul Pascariuc earlier in the day to secure their spot in the men’s semifinals.
Schachter mentioned that their victory was attributed to playing consistent and solid volleyball at a high level rather than relying on flashy plays. The duo is set to face Brazil’s Renato Andrew Lima de Carvalho and Andre Stein in the semifinals scheduled for Sunday morning.